By F. D. Adkins
Let’s face it. Our New Year’s resolutions don’t always work out. Maybe we did not get the job promotion that was going to give us that higher income. Maybe going back to school turned out to be too much. Maybe a “C” on a test ruined our chances for straight “A’s”. Maybe lack of time has turned the treadmill into a clothes rack.
For some reason, we see January first as a new beginning. And when those resolutions do not pan out exactly as we planned, we decide we will have to wait and try again next year. Let us be thankful that God does not operate on that schedule. The Bible says that His mercies are new every morning.
“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. “
Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV
So, what exactly does that mean? Jeremiah is believed to have written Lamentations. The people had rebelled against the commandments of God, and Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians. But, in the midst of a description of affliction, Jeremiah mixes the verses of hope. Jeremiah realizes that God is merciful because they are still alive. And because they are still alive, there is hope. God is giving them another chance.
As Christians, we have that same hope from a God whose love is unchanging. When we mess up, we don’t have to wait. We don’t throw in the towel and hope we get it right next year. The Bible says His mercies “are new every morning.” We go to him every day, and He is merciful to forgive us. I like how this is compared to the morning. When we think of morning, we often think of sunrise. Just as we know the sun is always there in the morning, we know God is always there. Now, some mornings we may wake up and not see the sun because of the clouds, but the sun is still there. We may not feel the warmth because of the rain. It is the same with life. Some days may be filled with hardship, but God’s love and compassion are unchanging. He is always working out His plan. And we have to endure the storm to get to the rainbow.
We serve a merciful and faithful God. Our sins deserve death, but He loves us so much that He gave His only Son to die in our place. His mercies never cease, and His love never fades.
- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 KJV
- “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;).” Ephesians 2:4-5 KJV
As Christians, we can wake up every morning with the assurance that we are not alone. We have the assurance that “every morning” He is there extending His mercy to us.
- “(For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee,…” Deuteronomy 4:31 KJV.
- “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Isaiah 43:2 KJV
